wb-network

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Network configuration on a Wiren Board controller — NetworkManager, wb-connection-manager, Ethernet/WiFi/4G/OpenVPN, static IP, failover priorities, DNS, hotspot. Use when user mentions networking, can't reach controller, no internet, ping fails, IP address, WiFi setup, 4G modem, VPN.

wirenboard By wirenboard schedule Updated 5/14/2026
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name: wb-network description: "Network configuration on a Wiren Board controller — NetworkManager, wb-connection-manager, Ethernet/WiFi/4G/OpenVPN, static IP, failover priorities, DNS, hotspot. Use when user mentions networking, can't reach controller, no internet, ping fails, IP address, WiFi setup, 4G modem, VPN." allowed-tools: Bash Read Write WebFetch

network

CRITICAL RULES

NEVER call wb-cli without --json from an agent. Human-mode output is unparseable; always use: wb-cli --json <command> This applies to every call including help: wb-cli --json <group> --help.

WB networking subsystem: NetworkManager manages physical connections (eth0/eth1/wlan0/ppp0/...), wb-connection-manager prioritizes them and does automatic failover. Config /etc/wb-connection-manager.conf (via confed) is the single source of truth for the web UI.

Load this on: "set up 4G", "give me internet via sim1", "WiFi access point", "no external ping", "static IP", "set DNS", "eth1 doesn't connect", "modem won't connect", "failover not working", "OpenVPN client", "network settings".

Don't confuse with /wb-troubleshooting (general "something broke" diagnostics). This skill is for targeted setup.

<HOST> variable: in all examples below <HOST> means wirenboard-<SN>.local, where <SN> is the serial number (e.g. wirenboard-AABBCCDD.local). Substitute the real address.

wb-cli note: Network config changes use standard Linux tools (nmcli, ip, mmcli). wb-cli confed is for loading/saving wb-connection-manager.conf. wb-cli --json dev works normally for any device control queries (e.g. modem signal via MQTT).

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  /etc/wb-connection-manager.conf  (confed UI)   │
│  └─ data:    physical interfaces                │
│  └─ ui:      priorities, types, visible in WebUI│
└────────────────────┬────────────────────────────┘
                     │ wb-connection-manager
                     ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  NetworkManager (nmcli)                          │
│  └─ /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/*.nmconnection │
│  └─ manages ip / route / dns                    │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

wb-connection-manager does the switching: if eth0 is down, switches to eth1 / wifi / 4G by priority from the config. By itself it doesn't create connections — that's NetworkManager's job.

Basic commands

ssh root@<HOST> 'ip -j -4 addr show'                                  # interfaces and IPs (JSON)
ssh root@<HOST> 'ip -4 route show'                                    # routing table
ssh root@<HOST> 'ip -4 route show default'                            # current default
ssh root@<HOST> 'nmcli -t -f NAME,UUID,TYPE,DEVICE,STATE connection show'   # all connections
ssh root@<HOST> 'nmcli -t -f DEVICE,TYPE,STATE,CONNECTION device'     # all devices
ssh root@<HOST> 'cat /etc/resolv.conf'                                # DNS

Active uplink = connection in activated state with default route through it.

ssh root@<HOST> 'ip -4 route show default | head -1'
# default via 192.168.2.1 dev eth0 ...

Connect to a WiFi network

ssh root@<HOST> 'nmcli device wifi list ifname wlan1'                          # scan
ssh root@<HOST> 'nmcli device wifi connect "<SSID>" password "<pwd>" ifname wlan1'  # connect
ssh root@<HOST> 'nmcli connection modify "<SSID>" connection.autoconnect yes'  # autoconnect at boot

wlan1 — external USB dongle if present. wlan0 is usually used by the wb-ap access point. If there's only one WiFi chip — disable AP for the duration:

ssh root@<HOST> 'nmcli connection down wb-ap'

Configure access point (hotspot)

The controller already has a ready wb-ap profile (SSID WirenBoard-<SN>, IP 192.168.42.1/24, NAT). Modify:

ssh root@<HOST> 'nmcli connection modify wb-ap 802-11-wireless.ssid "MyAP"'
ssh root@<HOST> 'nmcli connection modify wb-ap 802-11-wireless-security.key-mgmt wpa-psk wifi-sec.psk "MyPassword123"'
ssh root@<HOST> 'nmcli connection up wb-ap'

Open network → 802-11-wireless-security.key-mgmt none.

Static IP instead of DHCP

ssh root@<HOST> 'nmcli connection modify wb-eth0 \
  ipv4.method manual \
  ipv4.addresses 192.168.10.50/24 \
  ipv4.gateway 192.168.10.1 \
  ipv4.dns "192.168.10.1 8.8.8.8"'
ssh root@<HOST> 'nmcli connection up wb-eth0'

Back to DHCP: ipv4.method auto, clear ipv4.addresses "", ipv4.gateway "", ipv4.dns "".

4G/GSM (sim1/sim2)

WB7/WB8 has a built-in GSM modem + two SIM slots. Connections wb-gsm-sim1 / wb-gsm-sim2 are pre-configured.

ssh root@<HOST> 'nmcli connection show wb-gsm-sim1 | grep -E "gsm|connection"'      # parameters
ssh root@<HOST> 'mmcli -L'                                                          # modem list
ssh root@<HOST> 'mmcli -m 0'                                                        # details (signal, IMEI, registration)
ssh root@<HOST> 'mmcli -m 0 --signal-get'                                           # signal strength
ssh root@<HOST> 'mmcli -m 0 --location-get'                                         # cell, if enabled

APN, if the operator requires manual — nmcli connection modify wb-gsm-sim1 gsm.apn "internet". PIN — gsm.pin "1234".

Activate a specific SIM:

ssh root@<HOST> 'nmcli connection up wb-gsm-sim1'

wb-connection-manager switches between uplinks by priority on its own, but manually — via nmcli connection up <name>.

If the modem is not visible (mmcli -L empty):

  1. dmesg | grep -i 'modem\|qmi\|cdc-wdm\|usbserial' | tail -20 — did the kernel see it.
  2. systemctl status ModemManager — is the driver alive?
  3. lsusb — is the modem listed among USB devices?
  4. On WB7/WB8 — modem and SIM power. See wiki "WB-MOD-MODEM" / built-in modem of the controller model.

OpenVPN client

<name>.ovpn file from the VPN provider:

scp client.ovpn root@<HOST>:/tmp/
ssh root@<HOST> 'nmcli connection import type openvpn file /tmp/client.ovpn'
ssh root@<HOST> 'nmcli connection modify <name> +vpn.data username=<user>'
ssh root@<HOST> 'nmcli connection modify <name> +vpn.secrets password=<pwd>'
ssh root@<HOST> 'nmcli connection up <name>'

Enable autoconnect — connection.autoconnect yes. Verify — ip -4 addr show tun0, curl -s ifconfig.me.

/etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/*.nmconnection stores secrets in plaintext — perms 0600, root only.

DNS

/etc/resolv.conf is usually a symlink to /run/NetworkManager/resolv.conf or similar — editing by hand is pointless, will be overwritten.

Via nmcli:

ssh root@<HOST> 'nmcli connection modify <conn> ipv4.dns "8.8.8.8 1.1.1.1"'
ssh root@<HOST> 'nmcli connection modify <conn> ipv4.ignore-auto-dns yes'   # ignore DNS from DHCP
ssh root@<HOST> 'nmcli connection up <conn>'

Without ignore-auto-dns your DNS is added at the end of the list — DHCP DNS will be first.

wb-connection-manager: priorities and failover

View current priorities via confed:

ssh root@<HOST> wb-cli --json confed load /etc/wb-connection-manager.conf

The output is {"data": {...}}. Extract .data, edit the config.ui.con_switch.connections array (ordered list of connection_uuid from highest to lowest priority — failover follows it), then pass the modified .data object to confed save.

Save edited config:

ssh root@<HOST> 'wb-cli --json confed save /etc/wb-connection-manager.conf '"'"'<updated-json>'"'"''

Logs: journalctl -u wb-connection-manager -n 50 --no-pager — what switched and why.

Diagnosing "no internet"

  1. Link — ip -4 addr show <iface> — is there an IP?
  2. Default route — ip -4 route show default — exists?
  3. Pinger — ping -c1 -W2 8.8.8.8 (no DNS) and ping -c1 -W2 google.com (with DNS).
  4. DNS — cat /etc/resolv.conf, nslookup google.com.
  5. NM logs — journalctl -u NetworkManager -n 50 --no-pager.
  6. wb-connection-manager logs — journalctl -u wb-connection-manager -n 30 --no-pager — failover switches.
  7. If 4G — mmcli -m 0 --signal-get, mmcli -m 0 | grep -E 'state|registration'.

NetworkManager profiles vs wb-connection-manager.conf

NM profiles live in /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/*.nmconnection. The files are updated automatically on nmcli connection modify. Direct editing is possible but requires chmod 0600 and systemctl restart NetworkManager.

/etc/wb-connection-manager.conf is a layer on top for UI and priorities. If you edit NM directly, remember: the confed config isn't regenerated, and the web UI may show stale data.

Recommendation: simple changes (SSID, password, static IP) — via nmcli. Priority/structural changes — via wb_confed_save /etc/wb-connection-manager.conf.

NTP / time synchronization

WB uses chrony. Config: /etc/chrony/chrony.conf.

Check sync status:

ssh root@<HOST> chronyc tracking
ssh root@<HOST> chronyc sources -v

Add a custom NTP server — edit /etc/chrony/chrony.conf:

server ntp.example.com iburst

Then systemctl restart chrony.

reload re-reads config without downtime (some changes); restart applies all config changes (~1s downtime).

Pitfalls

  • Didn't check the link before DNS — typical diagnostic mistake. First ip addr, then ping IP, then ping name.
  • Editing /etc/resolv.conf by hand — overwritten by NM. Only via nmcli ipv4.dns.
  • Bringing up VPN breaks WB-AP access — if VPN sets default through itself, the local network goes away. connection.autoconnect-priority or manual start.
  • wlan0 under AP — can't be used as a client at the same time. For a WiFi client a second WiFi adapter (USB) is required.
  • Provider's APN — without the right gsm.apn the modem won't get an IP. Check with the operator.
  • PIN — some operators require it. Without PIN the modem is Locked.
  • Failover "bouncing" — low GSM signal, bad WiFi. wb-connection-manager log shows what's stuck.
  • NM doesn't start — systemctl status NetworkManager, kernel mismatch (see /wb-troubleshooting).
  • Custom nmconnection won't survive FIT — backup via /wb-controller-backup. For a full list of what survives FIT, see wb-controller-backup skill.

nginx / SSL on the controller

WB uses nginx as a reverse proxy (web UI, API). For HTTPS/SSL: standard nginx configuration applies. WB-specific: WebFetch('https://wiki.wirenboard.com/wiki/Nginx') for any WB-specific paths or config locations. For Let's Encrypt / certbot — standard certbot docs.

What the agent does NOT do

  • Edit /etc/resolv.conf by hand. NetworkManager overwrites it. Use nmcli connection modify <conn> ipv4.dns ....
  • Drop the SSH-bearing network connection from inside the SSH session. nmcli con down eth0 when you ssh'd in over eth0 disconnects the agent permanently. Use wb-cli job run with a deferred reconnect, or stage via a secondary interface.
  • Enable an AP on wlan0 while it's connected as a client. Same radio can't do both; one will drop. A second WiFi adapter (USB) is required.
  • Bring up an OpenVPN that takes the default route without confirming the local-network access path stays open — the agent (and the user) may lose connectivity to the controller.
  • Modify wb-connection-manager.conf without wb-cli confed — schema validation is mandatory for the failover logic.
  • Restart NetworkManager to apply a single change — use nmcli connection up <conn> / nmcli device reapply <iface> instead; full restart can drop SSH.

When to ask the user

  • About to change a connection priority that would cause failover to a different interface on a remote controller — confirm; if the new path is broken, the controller is unreachable.
  • Provider APN unknown — ask; without the right APN the modem stays Locked / Registered but no IP.
  • WiFi AP password change — confirm; existing clients drop.
  • DNS swap to a forwarder behind a firewall — confirm the path works from the controller.
  • About to set a static IP outside the current subnet's DHCP pool — confirm gateway / netmask.
  • Removing the last enabled uplink — confirm the user has an out-of-band way to recover.

Documentation

Install via CLI
npx skills add https://github.com/wirenboard/wb-ai-skills --skill wb-network
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